Magicial Revenge
by theshadowcat
Summary: An enemy is back and is looking for blood. The eighth story in the 'Magic' series. Please R&R. COMPLETE!
1. Wedding

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Hellboy and company. I'm just playing with them for my own twisted pleasure. I promise to give them back in good condition. Eventually.

**Author's note**: To all of my wonderful faithful readers, Beth E., Underwater Owl, Dragoneyes, all of my friends over at the Hellboards, and anyone else I might have missed, thank you so much for reading and reviewing my stuff for so long. Here's the latest story. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this up, but in the short time I've been writing, never have I revised a chapter more than this one. But this chapter is done, and there will be more on the way. So enjoy, and of course, please review.

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"You may kiss the bride," the priest says. 

A loud cheer fills the church. Their lips meet and I sigh. I just hope my wedding is just as wonderful next month. I glance up at the front pew and see Grandmother dabbing the tears away from her eyes with a lace hanky before it ruins her make up. I look at Aunt Stephanie and see that she's openly crying with a huge smile on her face. Uncle John looks so proud I'm afraid that the buttons on his shirt might burst. Their reactions are not too surprising since Jeff is their only son.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the priest drags my attention back up to the happy couple. "I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Cantrell."

Another cheer echoes through the church as Jeff and Pat take their first steps as husband and wife. Music fills the room as first the wedding party and then the guests file out. I'm happy for my cousin, but a little sad knowing that there's no way that other than my grandmother, Sharon and Vicki, will any of my family be at my wedding. In fact, other than Sharon and Grandmother, no one even knows about it. I've even moved my engagement ring to the other hand so as not to raise suspicion.

A short time later, the happy couple is still in the church with the photographer, wedding party, parents, grandparents, and siblings doing the photo shoot thing, and I'm standing outside the church waiting for them to finish so that we can go to the hotel for the reception. A cool breeze blows in off of the sea and gently plays with the skirt of my dress while I play with the small bag of bird seed one of the flower girls gave me. Various family and friends are milling around outside talking.

I walk over to the edge of the lawn and look out over the Pacific Ocean. I can see why they wanted to get married here. Carmel, California is just beautiful. The sky is a crystal clear blue and it's actually very nice day, not as cold as I feared it would be when I woke up this morning to a thick heavy fog. I could hear the light house sounding its horn in warning to passing ships as I left my room when I went to get breakfast at the hotels' restaurant.

As a particularly large wave hits some rocks just off shore, my thoughts turn like always back to Abe and I sigh. Ever since he found out about the waiting a year and a day rule, he's been about as passionate as a monk. The most I can get out of him is a hug and a kiss. If I even think about doing anything frisky, he either grabs my hands until I swear to behave myself or moves out of range of my grope. Darn telepathy.

He, Hellboy and Liz are back in Monterey Bay at the Navel Postgraduate School working with a small group of SEALs. The BPRD and the navy are trying to see if specially trained humans can take on some of the things that HB and Abe do. If it works, it might take some of the work load off of HB and Abe, or at least give them some more back up.

They've been there for the past week attempting to train the SEALs, and from what I understand, it's not going to well. Underwater training sessions with Abe have all been fiascos and the training sessions with Red have been even worse. These men can't seem to wrap their mind around the fact that the paranormal doesn't work…normally. Liz and I are supposed to work with them next week. I can't wait to see their reaction to us. Actually, I'm more interested in seeing their reaction to Liz. A tiny shy woman who is seven months pregnant and can blast them all to kingdom come, I guess it'll be a good lesson in never assuming anything is as it seems.

"Hey, Maggie," someone yells from near the front steps of the church. "Come on, they're about to leave."

I walk over and join the crowd of well wishers near the door. A moment later, Jeff and Pat come charging out of the church through a shower of birdseed and finally into the safety of the waiting limo. The white limo with the obligatory "Just Married" graffiti pulls away and the other limos start pulling up to receive their passengers.

Soon we're headed north on Highway 1 toward Monterey and I'm in a limo with Sharon, Ron, and Vicki. We stick to the safe topics since not even Ron knows about Abe.

"So what did you think of those bridesmaids dresses?" Sharon asks.

"The color was…bright," I answer.

"It was hideous you mean," Ron laughs in his deep baritone voice. I can see Vicki's eyes starting to droop.

"I didn't say that," I reply.

"But that's what you were thinking," he chuckles.

"Well," I hesitate. "Of all the bridesmaid's dresses I've ever seen, those would have to pretty much be on the top of my worst list. I often wonder what designers are thinking when they create these dresses."

"I think the idea is to guarantee that none of the bridesmaids look better than the bride," Sharon chips in.

"No worries there with those dresses," Ron says, still quietly chuckling.

"You won't dress me in anything that horrible, will you?" Sharon asks worriedly. And after seeing the strange look on Ron's face, she quickly adds, "Whenever you do get married that is."

"Of course not," I reply. Sharon breathes a sigh of relief. "I'd find something much worse. How do you feel about day glow green?"

Sharon looks daggers at me as Ron all but falls on the floor as his booming laughter fills the vehicle. It's a good thing that little Vicki can sleep through just about anything.

A while later, our limo pulls up to the front door of the Monterey Plaza Hotel and our door is opened by one of the employees. We exit and follow the rest of the guests through the lobby, across a patio with a fountain with dolphins, and finally into the "Dolphin" ballroom.

We go through the reception line and then find our assigned seats. I find myself seated with the brides' brother, Peter, and his wife, Pam, friends of Jeff's, Karel and Bridget, and my cousin Brian. We do the introduction thing and make small talk as we wait for the bridal party to finally take their seats. Lunch is served, then there're the toasts, and finally the first dance. I watch as Pat pulls her father up onto the dance floor and they do the traditional Father-Daughter dance.

I feel a deep depression settle over me as I watch them. I know that my father will never be able to do those things that Pat's father has done today. I can feel tears trying to start forming in my eyes.

"Stop that," says a voice behind me.

I don't need to turn around to see who had spoken. It's Grandmother.

"Stop what?" I ask.

"You're getting all misty eyed over that dance again," she answers. "You do it every wedding. Now just stop it or you'll ruin your makeup."

I just sigh with a half smile and turn my attention back to the dance floor. A minute later, it's over and the whole wedding party is now up there dancing. I get my mind off of my parents by looking at the bridesmaids' dresses again, and I shudder. What was she thinking when she picked out those dresses?

The next several hours are spent talking and dancing. Then there's the cutting of the cake, the bouquet toss with a couple of the bridesmaids fighting over the flowers, and the garter toss.

As the party winds down, I find myself sitting at my table alone. By some miracle, I hear my cell phone ring. I take it out of my purse and head outside. The caller ID shows the number to be Manning's cell phone. What could he possibly want?

"Yes, Dr. Manning, what do you want?" I ask as a way of greeting.

"You," is the answer.

It takes me a second to realize that the person on the other end of the line is definitely not Manning. I feel a smile creep across my face as I head toward the edge of the balcony for more privacy and to get away from the noise.

"Hi, love," I reply. "How are the training sessions coming?"

"Better," Abe responds. "One of the SEALs managed to tag Red's tail with a paintball today."

"Well, that's an improvement," I laugh. "What color did he get hit with?"

"Pink," he answers as I chuckle. "But I have a feeling that it was just dumb luck that they were able to hit him."

"But at least they finally hit him," I point out while I lean against the railing. "How are the water sessions going?"

"About the same," he says. "They keep looking for air bubbles to try and find me."

"Is Manning planning on ever letting them meet you and Red?" I ask. The setting sun is starting to turn the sky red and the water of the bay is getting darker.

"I think tomorrow or the next day is the plan," he answers. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," I lie.

"Liar," he retorts. "Even Red would be able to tell that you're lying."

"I miss you," I whisper.

"I miss you, too," he replies quietly. "It's only another day and a half before you'll be here. I think I can handle it."

"At least that's one of us," I playfully snarl at him.

I can hear him chuckling from his side, the brat. I hear him talk to someone on his end before he starts talking to me again.

"I'm sorry, love," he says. "Manning says that they want to do another water session before the sun sets. I've got to go."

"All right," I sigh. "Maybe they'll do better this time."

"Maybe," he replies. "I love you. Bye."

"I love you, too," I answer. "Bye."

I hear him disconnect, and with a sigh, I close my phone. I look out over the bay and watch a flock of pelicans skim over the surface of the water in flight.

"Was that Abe?" Sharon asks as she comes up beside me.

"Yes," I reply.

In an unfocused way, I look down into the water just below me. Something catches my attention and I focus in on it. I see a woman's face with dark hair and eyes and a look full of hate glaring up at me from the water. I grab Sharon and shove her away from the railing.

"RUN!" I manage to yell just before the water comes over the side of the railing and engulfs me. It hits me so hard that I'm knocked down and my phone goes flying out of my hand causing it to skitter across the red tiles of the balcony. I barely manage to take a deep breath as my head submerges. I try and grab hold of something, but it's like the water is now a living thing and it pulls be back over the railing. I'm pulled down the thirty feet below to the waiting ocean. I hit hard and my eyes cloud over with darkness.

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**A/N**: For those of you not familiar with the military of the USA, a navy SEAL is a soldier who is trained in SEa Air and Land combat. 


	2. Fear

I hand Manning his phone and start to get ready to go back in the water. I head for my crate on the other side of the warehouse that we're located in. I'll be transported the short distance across the compound to the small lake that's located on the campus. Once there, I'll be waiting for the SEALs to enter the water, and then it's a game of tag. If I tag someone, he's out, but if one of them can tag me, then I'm out. They have paintball guns, and I don't. I've never been tagged; however, they have managed to tag each other multiple times.

I hear Manning's cell phone ring. I try to tune him out until I hear him answer it.

"Yes, Miss Cavendish, what is it?" he asks.

Why is Maggie calling back? I turn and look at Manning. The look on his face is one of puzzlement.

"Who is this?" he demands.

Pause.

"No this isn't Abe, it's Dr. Manning," I hear him explain. "Mrs. Mann, please calm down. Please explain what happened."

Another pause.

"Mrs. Mann, please slow down, I can't understand you," he says in exasperation. "What has happened to Miss Cavendish?"

I hadn't even realized that I was walking until I'm standing next to Manning. I can hear Sharon's panicked voice on the other end of the line. Manning is starting to get annoyed so I take the phone away from him.

"Sharon, it's Abe," I interrupt her rant. "Please take a deep breath and then tell me what happened from the beginning."

I hear her inhale and then she tells me what happened to Maggie in a shaky and slightly hysterical voice. She explains how they were both standing next to the railing overlooking the bay, Maggie pushing her, telling her to run, a wall of water coming over a railing that's a good thirty feet about the ocean waves, the water pulling Maggie back over the railing and down into the sea. She describes seeing a woman with dark hair, wearing practically nothing in the water holding Maggie under, and then swimming off with Maggie.

I feel the muscles in my chest contract. Once again, I'm glad that I have gills to breathe instead of lungs.

"Abe? Are you still there?" Sharon asks. She sounds to be in near tears and it snaps me out of my shock.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the Monterey Plaza Hotel."

"Does anyone else know that Maggie's missing?"

"Only the people who came out to see what I was screaming about," she answers weakly. "So, most of my family."

"Maggie's staying at that hotel, right?" I ask.

"Yes, she is," she replies.

"Good, if anyone else asks where she is, say she went up to her room," I instruct. "Hold onto her phone, I'll call you back in a little bit."

"But…," she starts to protest.

"It's all right, Sharon, we'll be there as soon as we can," I say.

"Ok," she manages to whisper. "Bye."

She disconnects before I can respond. I finally realize that I'm staring at the floor and I look up. Manning, Liz, Red, John and several other agents are standing around me.

"Dr. Manning, we have a problem," I say to the director. "Maggie's been kidnapped and I believe that Lewis is responsible."

"What makes you so sure that it's Lewis who's responsible?" he asks.

I tell him everything that Sharon told me. I feel my heart doing double time, and it's all I can do to keep from screaming in frustration as Manning digests what I've just told him. The commanding officer of the SEALs comes in and walks up to Manning, ignoring everyone else.

"Dr. Manning, my men are waiting," he says hotly. "How much longer are they going to have to wait before you get your 'agent' into the water?"

Manning looks at him and I could almost hear the gears working in his head.

"Commander Metz, how would your men feel about a real assignment instead of all of these training sessions?" Manning asks.

"What do you mean?" he responds.

"One of our agents has been kidnapped," Manning states. "We must leave now if we want to have any hope in saving her."

"What exactly can we expect?" he asks.

Manning gives him a brief run down on Lewis' ability and of Maggie's disappearance. Metz thinks about it for a minute, nods his agreement and then heads for the exit. Manning starts issuing orders and the others start to carry them out. I call Sharon back to let her know we're coming.

"Yes?" Sharon answers in a shaky voice.

"Sharon, it's Abe," I say. "We're going to be leaving soon."

"Maggie's near the middle of the bay on the very edge of the canyon," she replies without preamble.

"How do you know this?" I ask.

"A few members of my family have joined with cormorants," she tells me. "They were able to track them and have been able to dive down to near where they are. As far as we can tell, Maggie's still alive. She's breathing with a respirator and tank but her eyes are closed and she seems to be tied up in the kelp. The woman I saw take her is down there and isn't using any scuba gear. There's also some sharks hanging around. I'm no expert on sharks, but I think they're great whites. I know you told me not to tell anyone else, but I had to tell the rest of my family what happened. I can't lie to them. We've moved to a little beach just under the hotel, so it's pretty secluded. Just look for the circling cormorants. That's where you'll find Maggie."

"Ok, thank you, Sharon," I say. "I'll let Dr. Manning know. We'll do everything we can to get her back."

"I know you will," she replies quietly and then hangs up.

I find Manning, hand back his phone and tell him where to find Maggie. He thanks me and sends me to my crate. Within a few minutes, I'm in the crate and we're moving out. I don't think we've ever moved out this fast before.

Within fifteen minutes we're at the marina. My crate opens and there's a tarp covering the opening. I'm told to walk into the tarp and let it cover me. I do so and then I'm led down a ramp and a few steps onto a boat. Then I'm led down a few more steps. Once the tarp is removed, I find myself below deck. Hellboy is brought in the same way as I was a moment later and we're told to stay below deck and away from the windows until we're called. The door is shut and I can feel more people get onto the boat.

A short time later I hear the motor start up and then we start to move slowly out of the marina. A few minutes later, we're past the breakwater and headed out into the bay at high speed. I sit down and put my head between my knees as we bounce along the water.

"Are you all right, Blue?" Hellboy asks. "You're looking a little green around the gills."

"How can you tell?" I respond without looking up. "My respirator is still on."

"Blue…" he growls in warning.

"I forgot to take my Dramamine," I tell my knees.

"Oh, sorry," is all he can come up with in response. Lacking anything better to do, he decides to light a cigar.

After what seems to be an eternity later, I feel us slow down. The motor is put in idle and then finally, turned off. I can here Metz talking to his men as the boat gently rocks in the waves. Manning sticks his head through the door and looks at us.

"Abe, Hellboy, get ready to go in," he orders. "Hellboy, you're going in with the SEALs. You'll have to leave the Samaritan here and use a spear gun instead. When you're both ready, I want you to come up on deck."

I nod, stand and start to strip down to my shorts as Red takes off his duster, boots and black T-shirt. Hellboy takes the Samaritan off, and carefully wraps it in his duster. As soon as we're both ready, we head for the door. I let Red go first to lessen the impact of the sight of me. As he steps out onto the deck, I hear several gasps and a few guns get cocked. Then I hear Metz yelling at his men.

"THAT WILL BE ENOUGH!" he yells. "You will save your trigger happy fingers for the real target, this Lewis woman. This is Hellboy; he's one of the targets you've all been trying to hit and failing miserably at all week."

"Sir?" I hear one of the soldiers ask hesitantly. "Does that mean there's another, um, _target_ that we've been chasing in the water?"

"Yeah, there is," I hear Hellboy respond.

I feel the boat move under his weight and the click of his hooves as he walks across the deck. I don't need any psychic ability to know that Red is probably in this guy's face now and blowing cigar smoke in it. The fact that I can hear the guy coughing is a good indication that I'm right.

"Hey, Blue," Red calls out. "Why don't you come up here and say 'hello' to the nice gentlemen."

I step out onto the deck into the light of the setting sun. I look around and see ten men dressed in wetsuits all armed with knives and spear guns, and sure enough, Hellboy is towering over one of them. Some are hastily putting their guns away. They're staring at Hellboy and me with a mixture of fear and confusion. Manning and Metz are standing on either side of the door I just walked through. I also notice that the sun is just starting to go behind the hills on the horizon. While I have fairly good low light vision, I know the others don't.

"Hello," I say with a wave. "I am Abraham Sapien. You may call me Abe."

"All right, you bums," Metz shouts to get his men's attention. He points off to the starboard side of the boat where about half a dozen black birds with long skinny necks and beaks are circling about fifty yards away. "This is a search and rescue. You'll be going out to that patch of kelp and diving down until you find the target. Hellboy will be going in first, you will follow his lead. Also, we have confirmed sightings of sharks in the area. Don't get yourselves eaten. Are there any questions?"

"Isn't, uh, Abe going with us?" asks the man that Hellboy is currently trying to cow.

"No," Metz answers. "He'll be following you lot in after you've engaged the enemy."

"Hellboy, get your gear on," Manning starts. "Remember that Lewis can control water, so be ready for anything. I also want your transmitter on at all times."

"Yeah, sure," says HB.

He pulls on a modified buoyancy control device with a very large air tank strapped to it. Then he grabs the largest pair of goggles I've ever seen and a snorkel and starts to put them on. He stops and looks around.

"Where's Liz?" he asks Manning.

"She's with the Cavendish family," answers Manning.

I hold my hand out over the water toward the birds stretching the webbing in my hand as far as it will go. I can feel the power of the Air Mages that are joined with the birds. I also sense where Lewis and Maggie are. I point out into the water.

"They're directly under the birds," I tell Hellboy. "You'll find them near the ocean floor in the middle of the kelp. Maggie is currently still alive."

Hellboy nods, grabs a spear gun and heads to an opening at the back of the boat. He puts on his goggles and snorkel and puts the respirator in his mouth. Using his left hand to keep the equipment on his face Hellboy steps out of the boat and jumps into the water. The SEALs follow suit a moment later.

I watch their bubbles as they head for the kelp bed. Stretching my hand out over the water, I follow their progress.

"Abe," says Manning from behind me. "As soon as they've got Lewis distracted, I want you in that water. Get Cavendish and head for shore and her family. I'm sure you'll be able to find them without any problem. Liz is expecting you. One way or another, we finish this today."

I nod my understanding and continue to follow the others progress. I just pray that the way this ends will be with one death: Lewis's.


	3. Rescue

I vaguely remember someone stuffing something in my mouth. I tried spitting it out, but was roughly told to keep it in if I wanted to continue breathing. I quickly figured out it was a respirator. I know it wasn't that long ago that I was at my cousin's wedding reception, but it feels like a couple of lifetimes ago now.

So, now I hang here, horizontally, tangled in the kelp with my eyes closed trying to keep my breathing and heart rate slow so as not to use up my air too fast. The gentle rocking motion of the sea is actually very relaxing and is helping in my endeavors. I've gone through two air tanks already and I know that there's only one more after this one. Not that it really matters; I'm more likely to die from hypothermia anyways. I haven't been able to feel my hands or feet for a while now.

I try and stretch my powers through the kelp, but it's not easy. Even though it's a plant, it's a water plant and that makes it hard to work with, not impossible, just hard. If I stretch a bit, I can probably touch the ocean floor, but if Lewis notices me doing that, I'm sure she'll just move me a little higher in the kelp so I can't reach.

I feel something move past me in the water. It's probably one of her pet sharks. She's already promised me that she's going to let them eat me, but not until she has Abe under her control again and I'm forced to watch her take him. I just pray he has the good sense to stay far away.

"Well, well, well," I hear Lewis say. "It seems we're about to get some company, and unwelcome company at that. It doesn't matter. I'll take care of them quickly, and then I'm sure my blue sex god will be coming to save you. And then he will be all mine."

She makes this last statement very close to my ear. Try as hard as I may to prevent it, my heart rate goes up and my breathing quickens in response. I just hope she's wrong about someone coming to get me. I don't want to die, but I'd rather die than let her get her hands on Abe again.

I open my eyes and try to look around. The lighting down this deep is poor to begin with and it doesn't help that the sun is close to setting. Eventually, I spot a big red blob headed our way. It has to be Hellboy which means that Abe is probably close by. I think I can make out several darker smaller blobs with Red. I look around for Lewis, and I finally spot her hiding in the kelp above me. I look below me and see several sharks swimming near the bottom.

All of a sudden, the current changes and Hellboy and the other dark blobs that are with him are suddenly forced near the ocean floor. It's either now or never. I stretch my foot down and barely manage to touch my toes to the rock that the seaweed is anchored to. I guess my feet weren't as numb as I thought they were. I send a surge of power through the ground beneath me causing several spikes made of rock to emerge under the sharks. Most of them manage to get out of the way, but I do manage to slightly injure a few and mortally wound one.

The sudden attack on her sharks causes Lewis to lose her concentration and the rescue team is no longer being pushed toward the sharks. Lewis screams in anger and frustration as the sharks start to turn on each other instead of HB and his posse. Lewis starts to emerge from the kelp.

Sending another surge of power through the plant, I cause it to knot around her and tie her in place. She starts thrashing just above me. Unfortunately, I didn't think this one through enough. The seaweed that's tied around her is also tied around me and it's now starting to tighten around me, especially my neck.

I start thrashing as well, trying to get one of my hands loose enough to grab at the kelp that's around my throat. The seaweed slackens as Lewis gets free. She turns to me and causes the kelp to start tightening again. I keep thrashing as my vision starts to darken. Suddenly, the strangling plant loosens. As my vision clears, I can see Hellboy has grabbed Lewis from behind causing her to have to turn her concentration on him and the others. A few of the other scuba divers come toward me with knives drawn.

The current changes again, and the rescues squad is pushed away from me and out over the canyon that's only about twenty feet away. I wish there was something more I could do, but I'm almost completely spent. I know that there's nothing more I can do for them, and that we're all going to die. I close my eyes not wanting their deaths to be the last thing I see.

Unexpectedly, a hand grabs my foot. I kick in surprise but the hand holds firm. I try and look down below me, but the kelp around my neck prevents this.

_It's me,_ Abe's voice says in my mind.

I try and relax as I feel his teeth brush against the skin of my leg and his hands gently push away the now broken pieces of kelp away from me. However, since this is the most affection he's shown me in over a month, it's a little hard to remain calm. If I didn't know better I would swear he's enjoying this. His hands and teeth gently move up my body removing the kelp. I try desperately not to moan since I know Lewis would hear it, and I nearly bite through the mouth piece of my respirator.

In short order I'm free of the kelp and I'm using a lot more air then I intended. Abe has a self satisfied smirk on his face. I'd like nothing more than to passionately kiss the smirk away, but time is of the essence.

I grab the tank I'm currently using and start to head for the surface. Abe grabs me and starts to head away from the canyon, toward shore. I'm not sure what he has planned, but I've trusted him with my life before, and I'm not about to change that now.

He pulls me toward him so that my back is against his chest and starts to swim in an undulating motion. I hold the tank in a way that it won't interfere with me trying to match his movements.

We make it to the edge of the kelp forest when I hear Lewis's scream of anger. I feel Abe's body freeze up and we quickly sink to the sand. I turn and see her head toward us. In a desperate attempt to keep her away, I send power to one of the three tanks that remain. The still full tank explodes in a cascade of bubbles and shrapnel just as she passes over it. It blows her off course and some of the metal pieces actually connect. She's now screaming in pain.

Abe grabs me and starts swimming for all he's worth. Again, I try and match his motions as I hear the twang of a spear gun letting loose and Lewis screams again.

After a while, I start losing my rhythm with Abe. I just don't have the stamina that he does and the cold is starting to get to me. Abe stops, grabs the tank from me, and turns me around to face him.

_Hold onto me,_ he says.

I wrap my arms and legs around his torso and try to hold on for dear life. He starts swimming again, but a short time later, his body freezes up again. I let go, twist around and pull the tank from his unresisting hands. I turn and face Lewis ready to blow my air supply to be rid of her for good, digging my feet into the sand. I know this explosion won't be as spectacular as the last one, but it's all I've got.

She comes speeding toward us on a current of water she's created. I pull what power I can from the Earth in preparation. I can see the multiple wounds on her that aren't bleeding. Just before she reaches me, and I set off the tank, a flock of cormorants attacks. I hadn't even noticed them enter the water because of the nearly dark sky up above. The sun has almost set.

Bird after bird dives down giving Lewis a resounding bite. She turns her attention onto the birds and starts trying to drowned the diving birds. A spear slices through the water and grazes her shoulder as Abe grabs me from behind and starts to swim for all he's worth. I curl up into a ball and try not to interfere with his movements.

After a couple of minutes, I notice that the gentle rocking motion of the ocean is becoming more violent. I try and look up past Abe's shoulder and I can barely see the surface of the water a couple of feet above us. Abe pulls us closer to the dark surface. As we start to catch a wave to shore, he goes rigid once more.

Taking one last pull from the nearly empty tank, I spit the respirator out, turn and grab Abe around the chest. We ride the wave until it crashes us into the sand. I stand and try to start dragging Abe out of the water.

I'm startled by hands grabbing us. I spin around and stare Ron in the chest; he's got hold of my arm and is trying to pull me out of the water. I see Brian trying to get a grip on Abe's slippery skin. The fact that Abe is doing a darn good impression of a plank of wood is not helping.

"Help Brian get Abe out of the water," I order Ron.

He knows that by the tone of my voice, it's better to not argue. He goes over and grabs Abe around the chest as Brian grabs Abe's legs. I struggle to follow them out of the surf as the waves get choppier. More family members come out and help us, ruining their clothes. Jeff grabs me just as my legs give out and drags me onto the sand. I feel more hands grab me and carry me farther up the beach before they gently put me down. I just lie there, too tired to move.

"Please put me down," I hear Abe say from near by.

I hear several expletives followed by the sound of heads being smacked which is followed by Grandmother telling the culprits to watch their language. The sun has completely set and I can barely see my family members on the tiny little beach. I'm vaguely aware of Abe lying down in the sand next to me. He holds me close and as exhaustion takes me, I'm barely aware of the sound of rushing water, yelling and a bright flash. Then the darkness over takes me.


	4. Liz

**Author's Notes**: First off, I'm sorry that it's taken so long in getting this chapter up. My old writing muse seems to have gone on vacation, and didn't bother to tell me. I have a new muse now, and this hopefully shouldn't be a problem again. This chapter is going to do a little time warp now and go back in time a little bit.

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I slide into the passenger seat next to John and put on my seatbelt, slipping the strap under my growing belly. I sigh and try to calm my nerves as John starts the car. Soon we're out the main gate and headed toward the Monterey Plaza Hotel.

I'm not sure I like what I'm being told to do. Scratch that, I know I don't like what I'm being told to do. Manning wants me to kill this Lewis woman. From what I've heard, she's in no competition for Miss Congeniality, but she's still a human being. I've killed others, but they were all accidents. Not that that's helped with the nightmares, but at least I didn't go out of my way to hurt people. Now I'm expected to just out and out murder her.

A shiver runs down my spine as I watch the scenery go by throwing lengthening shadows along the ground. The sun is so close to setting and I worry about HB and Abe. I'm even worried about the SEALs that have gone with them. They are so not ready to deal with this. I feel a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I turn to look at John.

"You all right?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah," I automatically reply. I sigh. "No. I don't know. I've never been asked to kill anyone before. I don't mind blowing up monsters, but Lewis is human, plain and simple."

"True, but she's also responsible for the death of a lot of people," he reminds me as his hand returns to the steering wheel. "Plus, she's threatened to kill Maggie and now has kidnapped her. We're not even sure that Maggie's alive."

"She's alive," I state.

"How do you know?" he asks.

"Abe would have been able to tell," I answer. "It's something that Guillermo told me once when I was worried about Red one time. If anything ever happened to either one of us, the other one would know automatically. He said it's true of all couples with at least one Mage it in."

"Oh," he replies. "Well, anyways, she also wants to control Abe and do things to him that I'd rather not think about."

"Yeah, I know, Maggie told me," I respond with a chuckle. "She said she was going to get Abe a stainless steel cod piece with a really big lock on it."

"Ouch," he cringes. "That'd chafe."

"She said something about kissing and making better, but it was hard to understand her above the laughing," I laugh. "I don't think Abe was very happy about it though. He sank to the bottom of the tank and wouldn't come up until she apologized."

John pulls into the driveway of the hotel and a couple of employees open our doors. John takes a claim ticket from the valet and we head for the front doors of the hotel. We're intercepted by Sharon just before we reach the sliding glass doors.

"We're down this way," she says in way of a greeting.

I can see the strain on her face as she leads us off the right. We head for a set of stairs located between the hotel and the building next door. We stop and wait at the top of the stairs as several kayakers come up, carrying their dripping boats over their heads. When it's clear, we head down to the little beach that's mainly used by kayakers entering and exiting the water.

Half a dozen people are lying on the sand, apparently asleep with about ten more sitting or standing around. The ones lying down are covered in blankets that someone probably snagged from the hotel. I can see Maggie's grandmother watching over the people on the ground.

Almost everyone is dressed in very nice and expensive clothing and they don't seem to care that it's getting ruined by sitting in the moist sand. There's even one guy who looks like he's in a tux. The cummerbund and tie are lying on a rock and the jacket is over the shoulders of the woman next to him, but it's still obviously a tux. He has his arm wrapped around the woman wearing his jacket; she's the most underdressed of the group wearing only jeans and a T-shirt. The stress is very evident on all of their faces. Sharon pulls my attention away from her family and points out over the water.

"Maggie is out there, under where the birds are circling," she tells us.

I look out and I can barely make out the circling black birds.

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"They've joined with the cormorants and are keeping an eye on things," she answers pointing toward the unconscious six. I guess they're not asleep after all.

I remember Maggie mentioning something about joining with animals after they came back from Panama. I've never really thought about it since Guillermo told me that I would only be able to join with certain magical animals. Not that it matters since it takes a lot more training than I have to do it anyways.

I find a spot to sit and look back out over the water. John sits down next to me and keeps vigil with me. I see a boat not far from where the birds are circling and then I see something red out on the deck just before it jumps into the water. Several more splashes follow the first one and I figure that must be the SEALs getting into the water after Hellboy. I don't see anything blue, but chances are it's because of the low light and the bay as a background that's making it hard to see Abe. I watch the boat carefully, and about ten minutes after HB went in, I think I see a flash blue with black enter the water, leaving not so much as ripple.

Now comes the hard part. If Abe is successful, he will head for this beach with Maggie. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to tell if they're on their way or not. I notice that the water is getting choppier out in the bay and it's having an effect on the waves coming into shore. It's getting a lot harder to see the cormorants as the sun starts to disappear behind the hills behind us.

A few moments later, the circling birds start to head toward shore. About half way between where they started and the shore, they stop and start circling again. Suddenly, they dive into the water and disappear beneath the waves. After what seems to be a life time later, the birds resurface and fly off.

The "sleeping" family members all open their eyes and groggily start trying to sit up. Other family members come over and help them.

"Their coming," says one of the women, wearily.

I turn toward the bay and try see into the dark water. A few moments later, I think I see something. I start trying to get up; John stands and helps me to my feet. I walk toward the water and raising my arm up into the air, I let the fire engulf my hand.

"There's something out there," I state turning back to the Cavendish family.

A couple of the men start wading out into the water as a wave brings Maggie and Abe toward shore. I watch as the taller one reaches for Maggie and the other one starts trying to help Abe.

"There's something wrong with Abe," I say to John.

John quickly kicks his shoes off and wades into the water as others head out as well, including the guy in the tux.

"Help Brian get Abe out of the water," I hear Maggie order the big guy.

I watch as John and the others reach them. The tux guy catches Maggie as she collapses. The others manage to get a hold of Abe and start trying to bring him in despite the fact that the water is getting rougher. Tux guy brings Maggie in first and lays her in the sand near the foot of the stairs.

I look back to the others and I'm finally able to tell why their having such problems with Abe. He's ram rod straight and not moving. The only why I can tell that he's still alive is that his gills are moving. As soon as they're clear of the water, Abe's body relaxes and they nearly drop him.

"Please put me down," Abe requests.

Everyone but John quickly lets Abe go, most of them swearing. Maggie's grandmother immediately comes over and smacks the ones that swore upside their heads.

"Watch you're language," she growls at them

Luckily, John had hold of one of Abe's arms, so Abe doesn't get dumped on his head. After making sure that Abe has his balance, John finally releases him. Without saying a word, Abe stumbles toward Maggie and lies down next to her, holding her close.

"LOOK!" someone shouts.

I turn and look toward the person who yelled. The lady in the jeans and T-shirt is pointing toward the water. I turn in time a giant wave coming toward us. Without thinking, I quickly let the flames grow between my hands until I can barely contain them and then I let it loose, evaporating the wave before it reaches shore. I keep the flames alive over my hands and try to watch for incoming attacks.

I hear a woman's voice speaking in Spanish carried over the water. I get the distinct impression that she's swearing. Suddenly, a column of water shoots out of the bay straight towards me and I blast it to vapor.

I feel a strong wind kick up next to me. I turn to see Sharon, her grandmother and several other family members including tux guy standing between Maggie and Abe and the water. Another large wave of water is being blown back out to the bay. I look at them and realize that I can 'feel' their power. Before I have a chance to really think about this, I hear the voice I heard earlier screaming and yelling.

"Not this time, lady," I hear HB growl.

Keeping the flame alive in my hands, I turn toward their voices. I can barely see Red standing waist deep in the dark water. He has a woman by the arm gripped in his stone hand and he's trying to pull her out of the water. She manages to twist around and place her free hand on his chest. He bellows in pain as a geyser of water shoots up between them.

Without a thought I send out my own column of flame towards them. It hits HB and knocks him back in the water. I pull the flame back and wait. After what seems to be an eternity of silence, Hellboy stands up spitting water out and starts wading towards shore.

"Geez, Sparky, you think you could have nailed her a little sooner?" he grumbles as he splashes up to me.

"Did I get her?" I shakily ask him.

"Nah, though you did singe her a bit," he answers. "She's still out there, so stay on your toes."

I nod as he walks past me and looks around. With the exception of John, Sharon and her grandmother, everyone else is standing there with their eyes wide and their jaws hanging open. Red spots Abe and Maggie and heads over to them. After dropping the air tank from his back onto the ground, Hellboy kneels down in the sand next to them, he rests his left hand on Abe's shoulder.

"Hey, Abe, how is she?" he quietly asks.

"She's exhausted and very cold," he answers just as quietly. "She needs to get warm soon."

With that comment, Sharon and Mrs. Cavendish grab several of the blankets and bring them over to Maggie. With Abe's help, they tuck the blankets around Maggie. Momentarily forgetting about Lewis, I go over to Maggie and heat the blankets up for her. Abe smiles his thanks to me as he pulls away from the quickly warming blankets.

"We need to get her inside," Mrs. Cavendish states.

The big guy that went out to Maggie in the water comes over and picks her up. I look at him as he stands up, towering over me. I realize that I'm not 'feeling' any power coming from him. I look around and realize that I'm not getting any 'readings' off of him, the lady in the tux jacket, or an older gentleman that's standing off to the side.

"Are you a Mage?" I ask him.

"No," he answers.

My hand is still lit and he's looking at me with ice blue eyes. It dawns on me that this guy is nearly as tall as Hellboy and his voice is nearly as deep. A part of me wonders that if Hellboy was human if he would look like this guy.

"Liz, this is my husband Ron," says Sharon, interrupting my train of thought.

I look at her and 'feel' her power again. I close my eyes for a few seconds and try to concentrate. I can 'feel' the power of thirteen Mages. I look at Mrs. Cavendish.

"I'm a bit confused," I confess. "Why is it that I can suddenly 'feel' your powers?"

"Every family has a member that can 'feel' the power of other Mages. They're called 'Seers'," she answers. "Maggie's the Seer in our family. Since you're the only Mage in your family so far, you're also a Seer."

"Can I detect the power of any Mage?" I ask her.

"Of course, dear," she replies.

Extinguishing the flames, I turn back to the water and look back over the black waves. I concentrate and continue to scan the water, but I don't 'feel' anything.

"Then how come I can't 'feel' Lewis?" I question.

"Chances are she's gone," Sharon answers. "Water Mages and Fire Mages are natural enemies. When she realized that you're just as strong as she is, she probably high tailed it out of here. When Maggie's feeling better, the two of you can have a look around to see if you can find her. But I have a feeling that she's long gone."

I turn back toward the beach and I see Maggie's family starting to make their way up the stairs. Abe looks wistfully up at them, especially Ron who's carrying Maggie. Sharon follows them without another word. John and Hellboy are still near Abe and I notice that John is on his phone talking to someone quietly. I can hear the sound of a motor carried in on the wind from the water. John hangs up and looks at me.

"Dr. Manning has sent a boat to pick Abe and Hellboy up," he says. "Could you give them a little light to help them? The transmitters can only do so much."

I nod as I reignite the flames and let them play around my fingers. I hear the motor get closer and then a search light blinds me as it lights up the water. I blink a few times as my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. I see a boat with an agent at the helm waiting just off shore.

I douse my fire as Abe walks to the waters edge. Stretching his hand out over the water I can tell he's checking for Lewis. Satisfied that Lewis is gone, Abe smoothly enters the water and quickly climbs up onto the boat a few moments later. Hellboy walks up to me and wraps his left arm around my waist.

"I'll see you back at base," he says in my ear.

I turn to him and kiss him. At first gently, then the kiss deepens as the reality of what could have happened today finally sinks in. My arms snake around his neck as my need for him intensifies. He gladly returns my kiss as his left arm pulls me closer to him, my stomach pressing into him. Suddenly, the baby kicks hard and he/she kicks so hard that Hellboy feels it. He pulls back and looks at my belly.

"You're grounded," he tells my stomach.

I quietly chuckle as I watch him reenter the water and wade out to the waiting boat. Shortly after he pulls himself up onto the deck, the spot light is turned off and I hear the motor rev up as they pull away.

I turn back to the stairs and John. He's got Red's tank slung over his shoulder. He tries to make it look easy, but I know that thing must weigh a ton. What is it with men and always trying to act macho? I slowly climb to the top and silently wait with John as the car is brought to us. John tips the valet as he gets in and soon we're on the road back to the Naval Postgraduate School. Sleep claims me before I ever see the front gates.


	5. Confessions

I wake to the sound of voices trying to be kept to a whisper and failing miserably. I take a few moments to try and figure out where I am without opening my eyes. I'm lying on something soft, probably a bed, I seem to be wrapped up in several blankets like a giant burrito, and I can feel sand and salt caked to my skin and hair.

Then my memories hit me like a tidal wave. I shiver with the knowledge that I almost died, but the worst part is knowing that Lewis almost succeeded in taking Abe away from me. The fear is quickly replaced by anger. What did the big blue idiot think he was doing? I lie there and stew for a minute in my warm cocoon while the 'conversation' on the other side of the room rages on.

"Mother, please answer my question," Aunt Stephanie hisses. "Was that blue thing that came out of the water with Maggie named Abe?"

I hear my grandmother sigh and shift her position. I do a quick 'check'; Sharon, Grandmother and Aunt Stephanie are in the room. I crack an eye open and take in my surroundings. I am lying on a bed as I thought, but it's not the bed in my hotel room. The décor is the same, but this room is much bigger than mine. I'm probably in Grandmother's suite. I'm facing away from my family but I can see the window and it is dark outside.

"Mother," Sharon starts, "it's late and we're all tired. Let's save the questions until after daybreak please."

"Sharon, what do you know about this?" Stephanie demands.

"Mother, please…" Sharon begs.

"Don't you 'Mother, please' me, young lady," Stephanie growls. "I demand to know what is going on. What were those things that came out of the water? Why do you know a Fire Mage? Why was a Water Mage trying to kill Maggie?"

"Enough," Grandmother simply states in a tone of voice that none dare argue with. "Sharon is right. It is late and we're all tired. We will discuss this _after_ breakfast."

"But…" Stephanie starts to protest.

"No 'buts," Grandmother orders as only the matriarch of the family can. "Good night to you both. I will see you at breakfast."

I hear the others leave and the door shut. Grandmother comes over to the bed and looks down at me. I stare back at her.

"Thanks," I simply state. "How many know?"

"You're welcome," she replies as she sits on the edge of the bed. "All of them, and I think you're going to need to talk to Dr. Manning in the morning."

"You're right," I say while I try to squirm out of the blankets. "Something tells me that there's going to be a few more guests at the wedding next month."

"Something tells me you're right," she responds with a smile.

She stands and helps be escape my cloth prison. Holding onto her hand, I shakily stand on my feet. I look down and see my ruined clothes. What remains of the stockings are barely covering my feet, the dress is wrinkled and torn and it feels like it's shrunk a couple of sizes.

"Do I look as bad as my clothes?" I ask.

"Worse," Grandmother truthfully answers.

"Great," I quietly chuckle. "Where's my purse? I'd like to go back to my room, get cleaned up, fall into bed and sleep until next month."

"Your purse and phone are over by the door," she replies while she helps me over to them. "But no sleeping until next month, you're not leaving Sharon and me to deal with that wild horde we call a family tomorrow morning."

"Oh, all right, if you insist," I smile as I pick up my stuff. She smiles back and opens the door. "At least we've got it easy. Poor Sharon is sleeping with a member of that wild horde."

"I'm sure your cousin can find something to distract him," she responds with a knowing look in her eye. "I'll help you down to your room."

"Thank you," I say. "I don't think I could have made it by myself."

She just nods as we head towards the elevator. I lean against the wall in the hallway as we wait and when the elevator finally arrives, I lean on the wall in there too. A short time later I'm at my hotel room door. I fumble around in my purse for my room key until I finally find it. I turn to thank Grandmother and am surprised by a sudden fierce hug from her. I return the hug and when she releases me, she looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

"That's the second time I've nearly lost you," she says with barely contained emotion. "You ever do that to me again, young lady, and I will put you over my knee."

With that she turns on her heel and marches back to the elevator. I watch her until she turns the corner. Quietly laughing to myself, I open the door to my room and let myself in. I quickly strip out of my clothes and toss the ruined items in the trash. Then I take a long hot shower until I'm a giant red prune and I'm pretty sure all of the sand is out of my hair and other places I'd rather not think about. I get dressed and climb into bed. I'm asleep within moments of my head touching the pillow.

I'm woken up by someone pounding on my door. Without opening my eyes, I 'check' who it is. It's Sharon, with a groan, I make the door unlock. She hears the click, and taking it for the invitation that it is, comes into the room.

"You planning on getting up today?" she asks when she sees my prone state.

"No," I answer from under the bed covers snuggling down into the bed and pillow.

Suddenly, the bed covers are blown across the room.

"Well, guess what, cousin?" she says standing over me. "You have to get up. People are going to want answers, and since they're about you and Abe, you get to answer them."

I grab the spare pillow and throw it at her. Sharon catches it and then she hits me with it. Dropping the pillow, she grabs my ankles and drags me off of the bed. Yelling, I take the bed sheets with me as I desperately try to stay in bed.

"Ok, that does it," I snarl as I grab my pillow.

A full out pillow fight starts and we chase each other around the room. We don't stop until we're both out of breath because we're laughing so hard. Tears are running down our faces with mirth. I slide down the wall and sit down, trying to catch my breath as Sharon does the same in front of the entertainment cabinet.

"How long has it been since we've had a pillow fight?" I finally manage to gasp out.

"Way to long," she answers panting. "My bachelorette party I believe. You do need to get dressed though. The family is going to want some answers."

"How are we going to keep Pat's family from finding out?" I ask worriedly.

"Grandmother and Jeff both explained to her how important it is not to tell her family anything," she explains. "She made a promise to keep quiet before, I don't see how this is going to be any different. Our family has been instructed to stick around after breakfast is over for the grilling."

"Think any one would notice if I snuck out with Pat's family?" I jokingly ask.

"Yes," she growls at me playfully.

She staggers to her feet and goes over to my closet and starts going through the outfits there. I just sit on the floor with my legs splayed out and try to think of a way that will satisfy my family's curiosity without giving away the BPRD. I come to a certain conclusion and it's not a happy one. How am I going to explain what they saw last night?

Sharon lays out an outfit consisting of a skirt and blouse on the bed and then walks over to the dresser and starts pulling out other essential items. She casually walks over the tossed about bed clothes and places the other items next to the outfit. She heads back toward my closet and start going through my shoes.

"Where are those really cute pumps you were wearing?" she asks.

"You mean the pair I wore to the wedding yesterday?" I respond.

"Yeah, those…oh," she says as she remembers. "Well, I hope fish like designer shoes."

"I'm sure I have something else in there that will work," I suggest.

She sticks her head back in the closet for another minute before coming out with a pair of high heeled boots. She puts them on the floor next to the bed and looks at the outfit again. Finally, she nods her approval and turns back to me. She takes a good long look at me and then crouches down, staring at my neck.

"How'd you get that bruise across your neck?" she asks.

I reach up and touch my neck. I wince as my hand comes in contact with the tender flesh. I stand and go into the bathroom to have a look. The bruise goes across my throat. I pull my hair up and I discover that the bruise makes a complete circle around my neck. Sharon's standing behind me, watching.

"It must have been from the kelp that was wrapped around my neck," I quietly answer as I try not to think about what that kelp almost did to me.

"Maybe you should wear a turtle neck sweater," she suggests.

"I can't remember if I brought one," I reply.

She heads back into the bedroom and starts going through the drawers. I follow her out and watch. After a minute of rummaging around in the dresser she pulls out a blue turtle neck sweater with a green wave pattern on it. She heads back to the outfit on the bed, picks it up and heads back to the closet. After searching for a few moments more, she comes out with a pair of dark blue slacks and pumps. She puts these new items on the bed and takes the boots back to the closet. She comes back and takes another look at the clothes she picked out for me.

"You know, there're more colors to the rainbow than blue and green," she states.

"Yeah, there's indigo," I retort. "What's wrong with blue and green?"

"Nothing, but it seems they're the only colors you wear ever since you met Abe," she observes. "Keep this up and people will think you two are twins."

"Well, now that you've picked out my clothes for me and criticized my wardrobe, are you planning on dressing me as well?" I ask.

"I certainly hope you can handle doing that yourself," she retorts. "I have to go and check on Vicki. She caused a dust devil last night when Ron tried to put her to bed."

"Ok, I'll see you downstairs in a little bit," I tell her.

As soon as she leaves, I strip and take another quick shower. Despite the shower I took last night, I still feel a bit gritty. After drying off, I start to get dressed. As soon as I pull on the turtle neck I have to take it off. Not only is it pushing on my bruise but the tight feeling around my neck makes me uncomfortable. It reminds me to much of being strangled. I quickly find something else to wear.

After dressing, I fish my phone out from my purse. I make a phone call and I'm pleasantly surprised. It seems my request was anticipated and everything will be in place when I'm ready. I sit on the bed with the phone in my hand staring at it in disbelief. That went to easy. I wonder what he's up to.

After finally shaking myself out of my reverie, I go into the bathroom to do my hair and makeup. I use some cover up on my throat to make the damage a little less obvious. Then I leave my hair loose and pull it around my neck to try and hide the bruising.

I head to the Monterey Bay Room, and I'm seated with a mixture of members from both Pat's family and my own. In a tradition of my family that started who knows how long ago, the morning after the marriage of one of the men in the family, a breakfast is hosted by my family. It seems Pat has a _very_ large family, so one of the ballrooms has been rented out.

The conversation is light and easy and no one mentions my sudden disappearance from yesterday. I guess everyone that's not related to me just assumed that I had grown tired and returned to my room. I'm not about to dissuade them from this notion.

Breakfast is eventually served and eaten without incident. Afterwards, I move about the room visiting family that I didn't have a chance to talk to yesterday. Some I haven't seen since Sharon's wedding and I'm enjoying catching up with them.

I'm relaxed and have put the events of yesterday evening out of my head until I feel a familiar presence standing behind my chair. I see the puzzled looks on the faces of my family before I turn and face Manning. I stand up and look around. There's no trace of Pat's family. I observe several agents closing the blackout curtains across the doors and windows. As soon as their done, they take up positions guarding the doors.

Without a word to anyone, my family starts to move closer to where I'm standing with Manning. Grandmother and Sharon join us as I turn and face them. More than thirty sets of eyes look at us. My aunts, cousins, spouses and children watch us, expecting an explanation, and I'm not sure what to say.

I can see the employees' entrance across the room and I do a quick 'check.' I can feel two people back there. There's probably a third that I can't detect, but that's fine with me, I know he's there. It's so quiet I can hear people breathing. Finally, the silence is broken by the last person I would have expected.

"I know you," Pat states from the back of the group. Everyone looks at her, and she's staring and pointing at Manning. "You're the guy on TV that keeps saying there's no such thing as Hellboy or the Bureau of Paranormal something or other."

"Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense," Manning corrects with a sigh. "It's my job to make sure the public doesn't know otherwise people would panic."

I see the door in the back quietly open and three forms move through it. I turn my attention back to my family and ignore the new comers.

"But why tell us?" Aunt Stephanie demands.

"Because you're a family of Mages that has kept its identity secret from us until about eleven months ago," he answers. "To find out that Mages even existed was quite the shock to say the least. We have the largest paranormal reference library in the world and there is not a single reference to Mages in any of them."

"Second largest," I correct.

"Excuse me?" he asks, turning to me.

"Your library is the second largest," I reply. "The Library that Uncle used to maintain is larger."

"Are you sure?" he questions.

"Yes," I answer. "If you don't believe me, go ask Uncle when we get home."

"EXCUSE ME!" Stephanie interrupts loudly. "But we're not here to discuss book collections. We are here to get an explanation about what happened last night."

"The big red guy that came out of the water after the pregnant lady stopped trying to blow up the bay, was that Hellboy?" Pat asks cutting off Stephanie's rant.

"Yes it was," Manning replies quietly.

"So who was the blue dude that we pulled out of the water?" Ron asks.

"That was Abe," I answer.

"Mother," Stephanie all but snarls. "Did you, or did you not tell me that Maggie had been Kissed by some guy named Abe Supine or something like that?

"Sapien," says a quiet voice from the back. "Abraham Sapien."

Everyone spins around in their seats to look toward the back of the room where Hellboy, Abe and Liz are standing. There are mostly gasps, a few squeaks of surprise and a couple of people use mild profanity. The offenders are immediately treated to Grandmothers' hand making contact with their heads.

"Everyone, this is Hellboy, Abe and Liz," I introduce. "Guys, this is my family."

Vicki, who had been sitting quietly in her father's lap, squirms out of his arms. She takes a couple of steps toward Hellboy before losing her balance and falling down. She crawls the rest of the way. Once she reaches Red's boots, she pulls herself up using his pants to hold onto and then holds her arms up to be held. Hellboy's tail circles around her little waist, picks her up and places her in his arms. Vicki happily giggles and snuggles into his chest.

Heads quickly whip around to look at Sharon to see what she's going to do about this big red guy holding her daughter. Sharon's face is priceless. Her mouth is hanging open and her eyes are about the size of saucers.

"She walked," she gasps. "My little baby just walked."

Everyone stares at Sharon in disbelief as Hellboy's chuckle rumbles out from his chest.

"I told you I wanted a daughter," he jokes with Liz.

"You get what you get," she teases back.

General pandemonium breaks out as Sharon rushes over to Vicki. Retrieving her from Hellboy, Sharon immediately starts hugging and kissing her daughter and telling her how proud Mommy is of her. Ron joins Sharon and hugs both his wife and daughter. Grandmother, Aunt Stephanie and Uncle John both rush over to them and join in the hug fest.

"Not that I want to ruin this happy moment," Aunt Ellen interrupts. "But eventually, the hotel is going to want this room back and I'm sure all of us have a lot of questions. For instance, even if Maggie has Kissed Abe, is it a real Kiss since he's…, well, he's…" She turns toward Abe. "Not to be rude, but what exactly are you?"

"Icthyo Sapien," he answers as he starts to walk toward me.

"It was a real Kiss," Grandmother informs her. "While Abe is not human, he is a man and all the signs are there to indicate that it was a real Kiss."

"So we all know that you two kissed last June," my cousin Kevin says. "Is there a wedding planned?"

"Yes," I answer. "It will be at my home in New Jersey. And to forestall the inevitable questions, you all will be invited."

Abe walks up to me and takes my right hand in his gloved one. Tilting his head to one side, he pulls the ring off of my hand. Dropping that hand and then claiming the other one, he returns my engagement ring to its proper place. I had forgotten about moving my ring.

"Sorry," I say quietly to him.

"I understand," he replies as he places a kiss on the top of my head.

"How did you two meet?" asks my cousin Wendy.

Taking a seat, I proceed to tell them about the events of last June. It takes quite a bit of time but I finally manage to get through all of the questions with the help of Grandmother, Sharon, Abe, Liz, Hellboy, and even Manning. A prolonged silence signals an end to the questions my family has, but now it's my turn.

"Dr. Manning, why did you send Liz to my family and then tell Abe to find her after he retrieved me?" I ask.

"I wanted to end this thing with Lewis," he answers. "From your report from our last encounter with her, I gathered that Ms. Sherman would be the one to eliminate Lewis, and I figured your family could help. Having Abe return to the boat was not an option since Lewis would have been able to capsize the boat."

"Dr. Manning, please don't do that again," I say. I can see the horror written on the faces of my blood relatives out of the corner of my eye. "A Mage cannot kill another Mage. And to answer the question 'why', the power that is released by the killed Mage seeks revenge on the Mage that did the killing. If Liz had succeeded last night, she would be dead now."

I can hear Hellboy growling from the back of the room. A few chairs are sent crashing across the room as his tail thrashes back and forth.

"He didn't know, Red," I state, trying to calm the big red guy before he can pound Manning into the floor like a railroad spike.

"You intentionally let my family know about Abe and Hellboy," I say, turning my attention back to Manning. "Why?"

"Your help has been invaluable to the Bureau," he tells me. "Paranormal activity has been on the rise lately. I had hoped that your family would be willing to help once and a while."

"You might have wanted to ask us first," Grandmother admonishes.

"Sorry," Manning replies.

He at least has the good grace to look a bit ashamed. As the events of last night swim around in my head, a question rises to the surface of my brain. I dread asking it, but I need to know.

"How are the SEALs?" I ask quietly.

"Luckily, none of them died," he answers. "Two are in critical condition and five of them are in serious condition. The rest got only minor injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to broken bones. The training has been called off until further notice. We'll probably be returning to New Jersey later today, by the way. Is there any way you can tell if Lewis is still around?"

"I'll go have a look," I respond.

I stand and head for one of the doors that leads to the walkway over looking the bay. Before anyone can object to me leaving, I turn to John who's guarding the door that I'm about to go through.

"Care to get some fresh air?" I ask.

"Sure," he answers as he leaves his post and follows me outside.

"Keep an eye on the water," I tell him. "If you see her, shoot."

"I thought it was a bad idea to kill a Mage," he says worriedly.

"It's a bad idea for a Mage to kill another Mage using their powers," I explain. "You can kill a Mage using mundane means and survive the experience, provided that you get in the first shot."

I turn my attention back to the water and 'search'. Liz comes out and joins us. I 'feel' her attempting to 'search' as well. I have been wondering how long it would take for that ability to form for her. I put my hand on her shoulder and 'guide' her efforts. She quickly gets the hang of it. Between the two of us, we're able to determine that there are no Water Mages in the area, either on land or sea.

"The area appears to be clear," I report to Manning when we return. "Of course that doesn't mean she's not hiding out at the bottom of the Marianas Trench for all we know."

"But that's over a mile deep," Manning exclaims.

"Yeah, so," I reply. "My point is, Dr. Manning, she is not currently in the area. Now if you'll excuse me, it sounds like I need to pack, check out and change my plane tickets so I can be back in New Jersey by this evening."

I give Abe a quick kiss goodbye and head out the door. As I leave, I can hear Manning giving orders to secure the exit area for Red and Blue. By 10:00 New Jersey time, I'm curling up in my own bed wondering where I'm going to stick an extra thirty people. Sighing, I drift off to sleep where MY blue sex god protects my dreams.

Fini


End file.
